Page 8 of Safe in His Arms

It took him longer than it should have, but since the alpha didn’t get pissed at him, it made his earlier thinking that the alpha wasn’t one of Anton’s friends seem even more likely.

As he was getting his heart rate down to a manageable rate, the alpha was quiet… patient. When he was finally able to swallow his terror, he took a deep breath, and that was when he got the scent of the most intoxicating thing he could ever think of.

It gave him butterflies, and his wolf howled, and yipped happily. That initial safe feeling enveloped him, and even though he now knew what it was, it still took him by surprise.

The alpha smelled like apple pie and something very male, like woody. It enveloped his senses and his heart rate decreased further.

“What is that smell?” Devon asked. He kept breathing in, wanting to keep the feeling for as long as he could.

“Uhh, what do you know about fated mates?” The alpha… Roman asked.

If he had said the sky was red, it would have shocked Devon less.

“Fated mates?” Devon repeated. “It’s a myth. They don’t exist.”

“What?” The alpha’s voice came out louder than Devon had been expecting, and it made him flinch and move away from the sound.

He felt a hand on his thigh and that made him flinch again. He moved away from the alpha—not that there was anywhere to go seeing as they were in a car—but Devon wasn’t a fan of being touched, it usually meant pain, and even though the alpha hadn’t hurt him, his body had reacted instinctively.

“Sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” the alpha said, and drew his hand back.

The alpha was weird. Devon didn’t think he’d ever heard an alpha apologize before.

“You didn’t,” Devon started, “I mean, it’s not your fault.”

“I’ll keep my hands to myself, okay, but could you please look at me?” The alpha’s voice was soft, and even though Devon knew he could have made it a command, he didn’t.

It took Devon a minute, or maybe longer, to screw up the courage to look the alpha in the eye.

“Hi,” the alpha… Roman said, when Devon finally managed to do so.

For some reason, the alpha’s voice, and his dark blue eyes, had Devon feeling less terrified.

“Hi,” Devon managed.

The alpha smiled when Devon spoke, and it had butterflies exploding in his belly.

“First things first, to put your mind at rest, nobody sent me, I’m not here to hurt you.” The alpha… Roman, held Devon’s gaze, and even though he’d been trained to look away, for some reason he couldn’t… or maybe he just didn’t want to.

Devon nodded, letting the alpha know he’d heard what he was saying.

“Can we talk about what you said before?” Roman asked softly. Devon’s brows furrowed. He was about to ask what the alpha meant, but it seemed the man could read him. Because Roman continued, “The part about fated mates not being real. Who told you that?”

“My alpha,” Devon replied.

That had Roman growling, and even though Devon could tell the alpha was angry, it wasn’t at directed him… for once.

“I’m your alpha.” Roman’s voice came out sounding more unlike a human, and Devon knew that his wolf was at the surface.

So why wasn’t he scared?

“What?” Devon’s voice came out high and squeaky.

“I’m your alpha, your mate,” Roman said the words with so much conviction, and even though Devon understood what they meant… he didn’t understand what the alpha was saying.

“Huh?” Devon didn’t even realize the words had come out of his mouth at first. “That’s not possible. It’s a myth.”

“It’sverypossible, and I would never lie about something so important,” the alpha replied, “and you’re all mine.”